Can you access a model from inside another model in CodeIgniter?

Question

I am writing a webapp using CodeIgniter that requires authentication. I created a model which handles all my authentication. However, I can't find a way to access this authentication model from inside another model. Is there a way to access a model from inside another mode, or a better way to handle authentication inside CodeIgniter?

Answer 1

In general, you don't want to create objects inside an object. That's a bad habit, instead, write a clear API and inject a model into your model.

<?php
// in your controller
$model1 = new Model1();
$model2 = new Model2();
$model2->setWhatever($model1);
?>

Answer 2

It seems you can load models inside models, although you probably should solve this another way. See CodeIgniter forums for a discussion.

class SomeModel extends Model
{
  function doSomething($foo)
  {
    $CI =& get_instance();
    $CI->load->model('SomeOtherModel','NiceName',true);

    // use $CI instead of $this to query the other models
    $CI->NiceName->doSomethingElse();
  }
}

Also, I don't understand what Till is saying about that you shouldn't create objects inside objects. Of course you should! Sending objects as arguments looks much less clear to me.

Answer 3

Don't handle authentication in your model. Only use models to interface with your database, or ldap or whatever.

I created an Auth library that I use to manage authentication and authorization. You can access a library like this from your controllers.

Answer 4

Loading a model within a model is now possible with the new CodeIgniter.